For Wednesday's appearance Asma avoided any hint of glamour, dressing down in a sheer pink sweater over a simple dress with her dark blonde hair soberly braided and pinned up.

Her tall, gangly husband looked relaxed, towering above his admirers in a polo shirt with an identity pass on a ribbon around his neck like other volunteers. The two packed boxes, sealed them with Scotch tape and carried them over to stacks of aid awaiting distribution.

It's like a report from a party, until you get to the next line: "Assad is held responsible by Western and Arab governments for the deaths of over 9,000 Syrians in a crackdown on dissent that began 13 months ago as his autocratic rule was challenged, first by peaceful protesters and now by a rebel army." Ah, right, that whole mess. But some boxes of flour, sugar, oil, and pasta for people in cities like Homs ought to smooth things out a bit.